Cheer coaches force sick teen to exercise, leading to rare illness, TX suit says
A sick cheerleader sitting out of practice with a doctor’s note was forced to do 50 modified burpees with her teammates as punishment, a Texas lawsuit said. Days later, she was hospitalized with a life-threatening illness, the lawsuit said.
The Rockwall-Heath High School cheerleader’s condition worsened after the Oct. 15 workout to the point where she needed help dressing and eating, the lawsuit filed May 27 in Rockwall County said. She was hospitalized overnight and diagnosed with exertional rhabdomyolysis, the lawsuit said.
Rhabdomyolysis is a “rare” muscle injury caused by “excessive exercise without rest,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Now, the student’s parents are suing the teen’s three former coaches who resigned following the incident.
McClatchy News reached out to the school district but did not immediately receive a response. Attorney information for the cheer coaches was not available.
“The teachers running the program had a history of using threats and intimidation to motivate members of the team,” the lawsuit said.
This is why the high school junior complied when she was told to exercise despite giving her coaches a doctor’s note, according to the lawsuit.
The teen hadn’t been feeling well the day of practice, so she sat out. But when the team didn’t perform their routine to the coaches’ standards, they were told they would have to do burpees as punishment.
“Despite this, the teachers running the class demanded she perform the punishments,” according to the lawsuit.
Other students said they witnessed the cheerleader struggling during the exercises, but coaches forced her to continue, the complaint said.
“One hundred percent honest with you, she shouldn’t have been working out that day,” one of the coaches, and defendant in the lawsuit, said during the school district’s investigation, per the lawsuit.
Rockwall Independent School District found the three teachers violated multiple school policies, according to the lawsuit.
However, the district said there was not “enough evidence” for the parents to have their daughter’s medical bills reimbursed, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit demands a jury trial and calls for an unspecified amount of damages.
The high school has a history of rhabdomyolysis illnesses in students, according to the lawsuit. In 2023, 20 students suffered from the rare condition when they were made to do over 400 push-ups as punishment, according to the complaint.
The teacher involved in the 2023 incident was fired, the lawsuit said.
Heath is about a 25-mile drive east from Dallas.
